Area Manager (Hebrides North) Fixed Term

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract

Contracted Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Salary: Senior Manager

Area of Responsibility: Network Operations in the Hebrides North area

• Stornoway
• Ullapool
• Tarbert
• Uig
• Lochmaddy
• Leverburgh
• Berneray

This maternity cover opportunity offers the chance to play a key leadership role within Caledonian MacBrayne, helping to deliver exceptional service and experiences for our customers and the communities we serve.

As Area Manager, you will be central to building and strengthening positive, proactive, and collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across the region. Supported by Deputy Area Managers and Port Teams, you will lead and inspire a team focused on understanding and responding to local needs, ensuring the safe, effective, and customer-focused delivery of services.

In this role, you will: 

• Develop, strengthen, and manage positive, collaborative, and constructive relationships with key stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively to deliver services that meet and exceed contractual requirements.
• Ensure the safe and effective operation of all ports and services within your area.
• Champion outstanding customer outcomes at every opportunity.
• Achieve and exceed key performance targets in support of Operations and CFL business plans.
• Deliver against port budgets and effectively manage operational costs.
• Develop and empower your team to achieve company objectives.
• Deputise for the Head of Operations and provide cover for colleagues when required.

Principal Accountabilities

Leadership

As an empowered and inspiring leader, you will:

• Provide clear leadership and direction across the wider team, with a focus on compliance, communication, relationship-building, performance improvement, and process optimisation.
• Lead the development of proactive, collaborative, and positive stakeholder relationships throughout the region.
• Communicate and embody company values and goals, setting a clear vision for success.
• Promote shared ownership and accountability for objectives across your area.
• Identify, develop, and enhance team capabilities to meet current and future operational challenges.
• Foster a culture that values collaboration, teamwork, and continuous improvement across the network.
• Create an effective balance between centralised and localised leadership and support.
• Understand and communicate the strengths and benefits of both operational areas.
• Empower teams, build resilience, and encourage accountability in decision-making.
• Challenge existing approaches and drive innovation and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder and Relationship Management

As a skilled relationship builder, you will:

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with external stakeholders, including community groups, businesses, and customers.
• Ensure stakeholder perspectives and needs are reflected in operational planning and decision-making.
• Engage proactively with stakeholders through regular communication and address issues effectively when they arise.
• Ensure robust arrangements are in place to manage crises and unexpected disruptions.
• Act as a trusted brand ambassador, delivering clear, honest, empathetic, and customer-focused communications internally and externally.
• Understand customer needs, adapting communication styles and operational approaches where required.
• Support local and central teams by building a strong understanding of customer priorities and expectations across the business.
• Continue to build your knowledge of the Caledonian MacBrayne network.
• Champion customer-focused operations, ensuring feedback and insight drive service improvements and innovation.

Safety and Quality

 With a strong commitment to safety, quality, and compliance, you will:

• Oversee compliance across all safety and quality management activities, ensuring adherence to legal requirements and company policies.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of compliance programmes throughout the area.
• Take overall accountability for quality and compliance performance, driving effective mitigation through delegation.
• Work collaboratively and positively with centralised functions.
• Review and enhance policies, processes, and guidelines to support the safety of our people and services.
• Maintain overall responsibility for risk management and the area risk register.

Functional Responsibilities

You will be responsible for:

• Overall management and accountability for operations within your designated area, supported by centralised functions.
• Providing out-of-hours leadership and decision-making support when required, ensuring continuity of operations and rapid issue resolution.
• Delivering strategic action plans, ensuring effective implementation, monitoring, and adaptation in response to operational demands and stakeholder feedback.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

We're looking for candidates who can demonstrate:

• Experience within a fast-paced travel, hospitality, or multi-faceted operational environment at management level.
• Strong people leadership skills with a proven ability to develop, motivate, and sustain high-performing teams.
• Experience engaging with multiple stakeholder groups and the ability to communicate openly, positively, and effectively at all levels through a variety of channels.
• Experience in safety management and continuous improvement.
• Proven strengths in resilience, accountability, and successfully delivering change.
• HNC, BA, or equivalent experience gained through work.

Why Choose CalMac?

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a diverse operational area, influence service delivery, build meaningful stakeholder relationships, and make a tangible impact on the communities and customers who rely on our services every day. As part of Caledonian MacBrayne's leadership team, you'll have the chance to drive performance, develop people, and help shape the future of our operations.